First Glance
by abcras
Summary: The First Glance can't always tell you all there is to know about a person. Stereotypes and rumors are fallacious. You know what they say: you can't judge a book by it's cover...can you?
1. Chapter 1

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Okay, this is…ehh.

**Ideas? Suggestions? Please review!f**

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"Oh my goodness, how can a guy be so freaking hot?!" I mumbled to myself as I flipped through the magazine and landed on an article about Chad Michael Murray. I immersed myself in the article, pledging to see whatever new movie he was in just so I could look at his beautiful face for two hours.

My cell phone vibrated beside me on the snow white bed, and I tossed aside the magazine to read the text from Jenna, who had decided last minute that her black shoes weren't good enough, and she _had_ to have some "more coordinated" heels to go with her outfit.

_got some gorgeous shoes!_

_ill be there in 10 so be ready 2 go._

Crap! Thanks for the notice, Jenna!

I jumped off of the couch and threw on my predetermined outfit (dark wash jeans with a red sequined halter) before sprinting into the bathroom, my bare feet thudding on the plush carpet. I ran a brush through my straightened just-past-shoulder-length blond hair and threw some makeup on my freckly face.

Just as I was trying to slip one of my red heels on my feet, the doorbell jiggled. There was a knock, and a faint voice said through the door, "It's me! Open up!"

_That was _so_ not 10 minutes!_ I thought with frustration. I limped over to the hotel room door, one foot in a heel and one still bare.

I opened the door while my left foot was still up and trying to wiggle into my other heel. I was about to sarcastically apologize to Jen for not being ready, but then I looked up from my foot and saw a stranger staring back at me.

"Oh," the guy said. I did a rapid once-over: he was probably a few years older than my age (15), he was wearing navy basketball shorts and a grey NYU t-shirt, and his messy black hair was completely disheveled and curled up at the ends, partially covering thickly-rimmed rectangular glasses.

"Uh, sorry," the guy said, obviously looking me over, too. I finally was able to pull the heel's strap over my foot, and I returned my leg to its normal position. "I guess this is the wrong room."

"That's okay," I responded, thankful that my sister hadn't arrived yet. I started to close the door, but the guy started talking again, raising his voice to stop me from leaving.

"I'm Shane," he said, staring noticeably at me. I gave him a weak, toothless smile.

"Meghan," I replied dully. Shane shot my a weird look; his eyebrows knit together and his head tilted to the right, as if he didn't understand something. Suddenly Shane raised his eyebrows and took a deep breath, readjusting his expression to normal.

"Where are you headed dressed so nicely?" He asked, looking at my outfit again. Ugh, small talk. I mean, he was definitely hot in a messy, lazy type of way, but I did _not_ have time for this.

"I'm going to a college party with my sister," I said, running my fingers through my smooth hair.

Jenna was going to college at California State University, and, although my parents and I still lived in Virginia, Jen had invited me to spend spring break with her in Long Beach. Given the fact that Jenna was squished in a miniscule dorm room with two other girls, she had splurged and gotten a huge, incredibly expensive hotel room for the two of us for the week. Although I had insisted on a cheep hotel, she had reasoned, 'how often does my little sister come across the country to visit me? Plus, mom and dad gave me 1,000 for this books and stuff year and I didn't spend all of it, so that's helping to pay for it.'

"Don't look _too_ excited," Shane said sarcasatically, noting my lack of enthusiasm.

"No, I'm stoked! It's just that my sister will be back any minute to pick me up and I'm not ready to go," I said, glancing over my shoulder and locating my purse in order to grab it quickly when Jenna got here.

"Oh, well then sorry to keep you. Nice to meet you," Shane said, pushing his haphazard hair away from his black glasses. He smiled and turned to walk away, and I went to close the door. Right before the door clicked in the frame, I heard him call from down the hallway, "See you around!"

_Wouldn't you just love that_, I thought, smiling ironically and going back into the hotel room to finish getting ready.

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**Alrighty… More to come!**

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	2. Chapter 2

**First Glance**

**Chapter 2**

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"Meghan!" I turned automatically at the sound of my name, and Jenna turned also to see who I could possible know in California.

I almost screamed when I saw Shane Gray standing on the other side of the lobby, his hand in the air and waving to me. It took me what seemed like an eternity to make the connection between the haphazardly hot boy in my doorway last night and the polished pop star standing across the room from me now.

_Shane! _I almost said aloud when the connection clicked in my brain. He made a gesture for me to wait and, excusing himself from whatever conversation he was in the middle of, headed over to where my sister and I stood.

"Is that…_Shane Gray_?!" Jenna hyperventilated.

"Yes!" I whisper-yelled. "I met him last night in the hallway, but I didn't recognize him…" Jenna shot me an appalled glance.

Shane was definitely recognizable now; he wasn't wearing glasses, his formerly messy hair was perfectly straightened, and he had exchanged his mesh shorts and t-shirt for white skinny jeans and a colorful vintage shirt.

"Meggie! How the _heck _did you not recognize Shane Gray?!"

"I'll explain later, he's coming over here!"

We conversed in loud whispers, and I nudged Jenna inconspicuously when Shane approached hearing range.

"Hey!" Shane said enthusiastically, looking at me, and then at Jenna. I blushed scarlet, and Shane took my lack of response to mean that I didn't remember him. As if.

"We met last night…" he explained, his eyes squinting and his smile slowly fading.

"Yeah, I remember," I smiled, my cheeks burning.

"This must be the college sister," Shane said, smiling at Jenna. "I'm Shane." He extended his hand to shake hers.

"Jennifer," Jen managed to mumble, still staring at Shane with her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open. I reached over and, chuckling slightly, nudged her jaw back to its rightful position.

"So," Shane started, shoving his hands in his pockets, his shoulders high. "I was wondering if maybe you would want to hang out at the pool later."

"Sure!" I responded a little bit to quickly.

Shane chuckled at my eagerness. "It's a plan," he smiled, handing me his cell phone from his pocket. "I'll text you?"

"Sounds good," I said, programming my cell phone number into his phone.

"Bye ladies," Shane said, taking back his phone and slipping it into his back pocket. "See ya later!"

I turned to look at Jenna as Shane walked away; she was breathing very heavily and deliberately, motioning with her hands upward as she inhaled and downward as she exhaled. I rolled my eyes and grabbed her by the elbow to lead her to the elevator.

The second the doors to the elevator closed, Jenna let out a scream. "Meggie, what the heck was _that_?!"

"I dunno! Last night, when I was getting ready to go to the party, the doorbell rang. I thought it would be you, so I answered it without checking, and he was standing there. Only I didn't know it was him, because he was all decked-down. He said that he had the wrong room, but then he stayed and chatted for a minute. I didn't realize it was him until he called my name a second ago!" I blurted in what seemed like one breath.

Jenna tried to pry more details out of my as we walked to our room, but I had told her all that I knew. As soon as we threw our bags down on the hotel room floor, my cell phone buzzed in my back pocket. I jumped at the initial vibrating sensation before pulling my phone out and flipping it open.

_hello?_

I didn't know who the text was from, so I responded…

_hi…?_

Within seconds, I had a reply.

_is this megan_

Um, what?

_meghan…ya_

The response came instantly, as if my secret companion was eagerly waiting for each of my replies.

_o sorry (:_

_its shane_

_Ohmygoodness! _I called Jenna from the kitchen. She ran into the room where I was lounging on the white bed, an opened can of soda in her hand. The soda sloshed out of the can as she jogged into the room, giving her white shirt brown splotches.

"It's Shane!" I said, holding up my phone.

"Oh my gosh! What did he say?!"

"Nothing, yet. Hold on, let me reply."

_long time, no see_

I hoped that he wasn't one of those people who couldn't distinguish sarcasm; if so, I would have to end our friendship before it even started.

_ya well i had 2 make_

_sure this # was legit_

I made a confused face at his text, and Jenna immediately asked me what he had said. I told her, and then typed…

_would i ever give out a fake number…_

_to a stranger…_

_whom i'd never med b4…_

_who wants 2 meet me_

_and could easily b trying 2 abduct me?_

_hmmmm…_

I giggled at my own sense of humor, realizing that it was likely nobody else would think it was funny.

Shane's response actually took longer than two seconds, so I had time to fill Jenna in on the conversation. When I'd finished, she looked disappointed and sauntered back into the kitchen. "Call me when something significant happens, like he asks you out!" She called.

"Jenna, he's 19. I'm 15."

"He doesn't know that!"

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­­­**Alright! Once again, please review whether you liked it or not!**

**Just in case this gets deleted...it's posted on under the same story name and penname.**

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	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, here's chapter three…**

**Enjoy.**

"Jenna, where'd you put my sunglasses?" I shouted from the bedroom.

"I left them on the counter!" she replied.

"Well, they're not there!" I hollered back, going into the kitchen to look for a second time. "Ugh! You are _so _not borrowing my sunglasses anymore!"

"Oh, here they are, Meggie," Jenna called, walking into the kitchen a minute later.

"Thanks," I mumbled, putting them on top of my head. Mfy phone buzzed in my hand, and I immediately flipped it open.

_u no, it would b polite 2 tell me_

_if ur planning 2 stand me up, dawson_

I groaned and, calling a goodbye to Jenna and walking into the hotel room, answered…

_patience is a virtue, gray_

_im on my way, so calm down_

Shane (I had started calling him Gray after he initiated the trend by calling me Dawson) and I had been texting regularly for the past couple of days, and I felt like I had known him forever. He didn't seem like a pop star, just like a normal teenage guy.

My phone buzzed again as I entered the elevator.

_its not nice to keep a guy waiting_

I didn't even dignify his text with an answer. The elevator doors finally opened on the ground floor, and I speed walked through the foyer and right through the doors to the humongous pool.

I almost ran right past Shane, who was basking in the sun on a white plastic chair. He was wearing red swim trunks and had a white t-shirt wadded up on the plastic table by the chair. I was pretty sure that his eyes were closed under his red sunglasses because he didn't acknowledge me.

"Hellooooo?" I said, waving my hand in front of his face. He didn't react, so I pulled off his glasses. He kept his eyes closed, but I could see a smile playing across his lips.

"Gray!" I snapped my fingers inches away from his face, but he didn't move.

"Okay, that's the way you wanna play, huh? Fine, two can play this game," I mumbled to myself. I took off my own white glasses and replaced them with Shane's, and then I spread out on a chair next to Shane's. I gave a dramatic yawn and said, "Ahhh. I think I'll just go to sleep…"

Next thing I knew, I felt big, muscular arms under me, and I wasn't on the chair anymore. My eyes flew open, and I realized that I was in Shane's arms. He was walking towards the pool, and I realized what he was about to do.

Kicking and squealing, I yelled, "Gray! You better put me down!" The last thing I heard before the water engulfed me was his musical laugh.

I opened my eyes underwater to find Shane's glasses on the bottom of the pool. They weren't hard to retrieve, considering their bright red color, so I hung out at the bottom of the pool for a while.

_Any minute now, _I thought as I waited underwater. _Any second and Shane will be jumping in to save me… _I was running out of breath. There was no way he could know I wasn't drowning…why wasn't he coming in after me?

Finally, right after I was about to give up, I heard a splash in the water next to me. I whipped my head around in the water, my hair floating around me.

Shane's eyes met mine underwater and flashed me a grin. Huge bubbles escaped through his nose, and I giggled underwater. The giggle made me realize how low my oxygen supply was, and I immediately pushed off of the bottom of the pool.

When I broke the surface, I gasped for air. I treaded water for a second, and Shane joined me, looking concerned.

"Why the _heck_ did you stay down there that long?" He asked when he realized I would be alright.

I felt my cheeks burning again. "Well, maybe I was drowning because I wasn't prepared for the water," I mumbled.

Shane chuckled. "Yeah, you really looked like you were drowning, Dawson. Seriously, don't become an actress when you grow up…Don't you think I would have jumped in sooner if I thought you were drowning?"

I stuck my tongue out at him, and he laughed his beautiful laugh again. I stared at him for a while, fully realizing how gorgeous he was.

_Shuddup! He's four years older than you! _My angelic side (who knew that was there?) told me. My line of vision lowered while I appreciated his muscles…his finely toned abs…his perfect pecks…_Stop!_

I finally snapped out of my trance when I noticed his expression change. Shane's grin transformed into a confused expression, his head cocked and eyebrows knit together.

"Sorry," I muttered.

"'Sokay," he said lightly, giving me a toothless smile and shrugging his shoulders. "Can't say I'm not used to it, to tell you the truth…I just didn't necessarily expect it from _you_."

"You don't even know me," I pointed out as he handed me a towel and we both sat down on our chairs. We didn't lie down, though; we just sat on the sides of the chairs so that we were facing each other, our knees slightly touching.

"Well, then, tell me about yourself," Shane instructed, as if it were the most obvious thing to do.

I took a deep breath. His expectant glance told me that I would not get away with one sentence.

"Okay. I have one sister, Jenna, and she's the only one that calls me anything other than Meghan; she calls me Meggie. She's pretty much the coolest person you will ever meet. I don't have any pets even though I love animals, which is a total bummer. But if I could have any pet, it would be a Dalmatian puppy, without a doubt. And I'd name her Jasmine. I love snow, but I hate the cold; which, if you think about it, doesn't really make sense because in Virginia we have cold winters but it hasn't snowed in years. Oh, and I live in Virginia Beach, like 5 minutes away from the beach, which is awesome because I love the beach. The sun is my best friend, besides my Jenna and a totally amazing girl named Gabrielle, who is my neighbor. Um, lets see…I play soccer and I love to swim, and Michael Phelps is, like, the best person ever. Besides Andy Roddick. I have a couple of months left of my sophomore year, which is pretty sweet because summer is the best time of the year. Oh, and I'm pretty much a nerd…"

I blushed when I finished and smiled at Shane meekly, waiting for his reaction. I was still trying to get used to being in the presence of a celebrity.

haneS was looking at me with his eyes full of unanswered questions. I really wanted to hear about him, though, so I talked before he had the chance to.

"Your turn," I said, resting my chin in my hand and looking at him expectantly.

He laughed. "Not so fast! I have so many more questions!"

"You're joking right?" I asked, my expression incredulous. "I don't think so. Go ahead, Gray…it's not polite to keep a girl waiting."

He sighed dramatically, but I saw a hint of an entertained smile playing around his mouth and in his eyes.

"Okay. I'm Enrique–"

"Gray!" He smiled his contagious smile.

"Fine, fine! I'm Shane Michael Gray, and I'm in this band called Connect Three…dunno if you've heard of it. Um…I have black hair…and I have three band-mates…" He paused.

"Looks like somebody's a little guarded against their personal life," I said quietly. He didn't respond. "You know, I can be a pretty good listener, if there's something on your mind."

Shane sighed. "Why are you so easy to trust? It's not good for me."

"Yeah, it is. Everybody needs somebody to just hear them out, every once in a while…without having to care about what Disney thinks."

Shane smiled weakly and sighed again, running his fingers through his wet hair. "Yeah, I guess you're right…" he admitted. We were both silent for a minute, staring at the wet cement underneath us.

Shane looked up and smiled truthfully, immediately lightening the mood. "Okay, here goes. I'm Shane, and I'm kind of a dork. I like to be funny and make people laugh, but sometimes I use humor to cover up other things that I'm worried about, instead of addressing the problem directly. I'm in a band with two of my best friends, which is awesome…usually. But sometimes I get jealous, and, although I never admit it, it really bothers me sometimes. Who gets jealous of their best friends?" He sounded disgusted with himself. "Like Nate. He's obviously the hot one, and all the girls love him, and usually I'm okay with that. I'm cool with being the funny one. But sometimes, you know, I'll see a packed arena with hundreds of posters, and I can't find my name on any of them…just Nate's. And Jason. He's this prodigy guitar player, _and_ he's an amazing singer. Anyways, I don't get jealous that often, but when I do, it's bad. I have to like, leave the room and calm myself before facing my friends again, so they don't think less of me.

"That's another thing—always having to keep up a reputation for not only your fans, but your best friends. Especially Nate, since he's younger. I have to play the 'big brother' role, which isn't always easy. Don't get me wrong, I love what I do and I don't want to stop for a long time, but it's _way_ more stressful and difficult than we lead on in interviews."

He had been staring at the sky over my shoulder as he talked, but he hung his head when he finished. It was silent for a minute while he studied the concrete.

"Feel better?" I asked after a while.

He looked up at my and gave me a weak grin, but nodded his head with a sincere expression on his face.

"Don't feel ashamed, Shane. Seriously, _everybody _else gets jealous sometimes."

"But Disney isn't watching everybody else."

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**Well, there you have it.**

**  
Review, review, review!**


	4. Chapter 4

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Here's chapter four…

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My cell started ringing really loudly, and I flipped it open before it could wake Jenna up.

"Hello?" I asked, putting the phone to my ear.

"Hey, Dawson, it's Shane."

"Hey!"

"Why are you _awake_ so early?" He asked disgustedly.

"Why would you call me if you didn't think I would be up?"

"Well, I was _planning _on leaving a message."

"Anyways, 8 isn't early," I pointed out.

"You're joking, right?" Shane asked skeptically.

"If you think it's so early, then why are _you_ up?"

"The stupid sun woke me up. Nate didn't close the blinds," Shane groaned.

"If the sun's up, you should be, too."

"Says the person who doesn't have to wake up at 5 o'clock on a regular basis! I mean, I'm on vacation, here!"

"Are you kidding me? Ever heard of _high school_, Gray?" I asked, incredulous to his belief that normal teenagers could sleep as late as they want.

"You have to wake up at _five_?"

"Mhmm."

"Ouch."

"Nah, I don't really mind…I just take a quick jog before my shower, and I'm good to go," I explained.

"Anyways…wanna hang out today?"

"I'm not sure if I can. Jenna's not awake yet, and I don't know if she has a class today."

"Well, if she doesn't, she should come, too," Shane suggested. "And I'll bring Nate and Jason!"

"Hmm. I don't know if I'm ready to handle all _three_ of you guys at once."

"There are four of us, if you'd like to include our drummer," Shane corrected smugly.

"Even better," I said sarcastically. I heard heavy footsteps coming into the living room, and I looked over my shoulder. Jenna was rubbing at her heavy eyelids, still laden with sleep. "Morning, Jen," I said, holding my cell away from my mouth.

"Morning," she replied, her voice raspy with sleep. "Who you talking to?"

"Shane." I couldn't help the wide grin that broke out across my face. "You have a class today?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry! I have one at 4, but that's it for today. It should last about 2 hours."

"That's okay," I replied, and Jenna gave me a grateful smile before walking into the kitchen, her feet dragging.

"Jenna has a class today at 4," I said, putting the phone back up to my ear and sighing.

"Why's that _bad_?" Shane asked, insulted.

"I came to California to see my sister, not _you_."

"Ouch. That hurts," Shane replied. "Anyways…see you at 4 by the pool! I'll be the one with three little ducklings trailing after me!" The line went dead.

"Shane!" I groaned to a dial tone.  
I got up from the couch, dropping my phone into the cushion that I had been occupying.

"Jenna, Shane wants me to meet him at the pool at four," I groaned as I walked into the kitchen, my long pajama pants dragging on the hardwood floor.

"Why is that bad?" She asked, her expression confused. "Otherwise, you would just be sitting here for 2 hours!"

"He's bringing Nate and Jason!" I explained, using my hands for emphasis.

"Ooooh!" Jenna squealed. "Say hi to Jason for me!"

"Jenna!"

"I still don't see the problem, Meggie."

"What if they don't like me?" I asked meekly.

"Meggie, what's not to love? Anyways, if Shane likes you, they will, too." She smiled. "Don't forget to put in a good word about me with Jason."

-x-

"Bye, Meggie! Have fun! Don't forget to be ready to go to dinner at 6:30!" Jenna called as she walked out of the hotel room to go to class at 3:45.

"See ya, Jen!" I called after her. I went into my room and grabbed some flip-flops, and then I threw my hair into a sloppy bun. I checked my outfit again – a coral pink halter bikini under pale yellow Soffees and a white tank top – and completed the look with my white sunglasses on top of my head.

I grabbed my cell phone and walked out of the door a couple of minutes early, determined to beat Shane to the pool this time.

I got to the humongous pool before Shane (ha!), so I scouted out five empty chairs in a row. I finally found some on the far side of the pool and spread out on one of them. I took off my shirt but left my Soffees on, and I closed my eyes – I still wasn't tan after a two of days in Cali.

After a couple of minutes, somebody poked my stomach, and I screamed instinctively, jerking up to an upright position.

"Gray!" I squealed over his hearty laugh.

"Hahaha! Somebody's ticklish!" He was cracking up. I glared at him when he started holding his stomach from laughter.

"It's not _that _funny," I said grumpily.

"Lighten up, Dawson," Shane said, a huge grin still on his face.

"Where're your _ducklings_?" I asked, eager for a subject change.

"Well, you didn't seem excited that they were coming…I don't know why. They're awesome guys." He sat down on the empty chair on my right. I didn't say anything, and he broke out into a huge smile. "Anyways, I _am_ going to set you and Nate up. Don't you worry about that, Dawson."

"I don't think so, Gray," I replied, my eyebrows raised.

Shane laughed again. "Oh, come _on_. You guys were practically _made_ for each other."

"Mhmm, riiiight." I answered skeptically.

"Dawson, are you serious? If I had said that to any other girl in the entire country, they would probably break my eardrums. And here _you_ are, rejecting him?"

"I'm not 'any other girl', Gray. And I don't like blind dates."

"Well," Shane smiled, "it's not exactly a blind date, is it? For you, at least…I mean, you probably know everything from his favorite color to what cologne he wears."

"Once again, I'm not 'any other girl'. So, although I do know that he's gorgeous, that's about the extent of my knowledge."

"Now, isn't that enough?"

"Go away, Gray." I moaned, laying back down on the plastic chair and turning away from him.

"Come on, Dawson," he said as he put his hand on my shoulder and rolled me back towards him. I covered my face with my hands to hide my amused smile. "Okay, fine! I'll set you up with one of my friends, and you set me up with one of yours."

"Yeah, right, Gray. First of all, I already said that I don't do blind dates. Secondly, I don't _know_ anybody in California, except for you and my sister, and, hate to break it to ya, but she's more of a Jason kind of girl."

"You're impossible, Dawson."

**

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Some of this stuff doesn't make loads of sense with the Connect Three characters instead of the Jonas Brothers. If you'd like to read the story in it's original form (I promise, it's better!) then head on over to and read the story under the same name and penname. :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**First Glance**

**Chapter Five**

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"Jenna, come on!" I called from the door. After spending the whole day with my sister shopping and walking around the campus and city, we were off to have dinner at Connect Three's suite. It was my first time meeting Shane's bandmates, and I was really nervous.

"Coming, Meggie, chill," Jenna said as she rounded the corner. She finally looked ready to go. "Ah, wait, wait," she said, turning around and going back into her room.

I took advantage of the delay to check myself in the mirror again – I wanted to make a good first impression. I had straightened my naturally sandy blonde hair again, and the layers gave my just-past-shoulder-length 'do a polished look. I was wearing white short shorts and a green babydoll top that flowed away from my stomach from just below my chest.

I grabbed my cell phone when Jenna was finally ready to go, slipping it into my back pocket. Her halter-top was the same style I'd seen a lot of California girls wearing, except that the sheer material added a touch of sophistication and intrigue to the outfit, and the bold red color was guaranteed to get attention. Her top was paired with a flattering pair of faded denim shorts and a pair of silver gladiator sandals. Her hair matched mine in color, but was twice the length and had gentle ringlets making their way through each strand.

"Alright, let's go," Jenna said finally as she opened the hotel door. I followed her into the hallway, but then I took the lead since I knew where the room was.

The suite was on the other end of the floor from ours. When we reached their room, I realized why Shane had accidentally come to my door on my first day in California – his suite number was exactly 200 numbers ahead of mine (mine being 231 and his being 431).

I took a deep breath and rung the doorbell (what kind of a hotel has _doorbells_? I'll tell you what kind: the fancy smancy kind…and that's exactly what kind of a hotel we were in.)

The door sung open, and Jenna and I were greeted by Shane's smiling face.

"Hey, Dawson! Hey, Jenna!" He said, giving each of us a hug. "Come on in."

We stepped into a huge foyer. I could already tell that their hotel room would make ours look like a shoebox.

Soon, two curly haired boys came into the foyer, and I heard Jenna's quiet gasp. I had to agree with her reaction; the boys _did_ look hotter in person.

"These are my boys--Nate and Jason," Shane pointed to each boy as he introduced them. "Guys, this is Jenna and Dawson," he gestured toward each of us, smirking slightly when he introduced me incorrectly.

"Meghan," I corrected, glaring at Shane as I shook his friends' hands. Shane winked, and I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Nice to meet you guys, finally," I said, turning my attention to Nate and Jason and smiling politely. Nate and I made eye contact, but I broke it quickly with a blush.

_Goodness, that boy's gorgeous, _I thought. _It's really not fair. We need a guy at least _half_ that hot in Virginia Beach._

"Yeah. It's okay, though. You guys wanna head on into the living room?" Jason was saying when I refocused on the conversation. _Oh gosh, how long was I zoned out?_

"Okay," Jenna complied with a friendly smile.

Shane gave me a look with his eyebrows raised, as if he knew I had zoned out, staring at the boy I had promised I wouldn't date. He offered me his elbow with a crooked grin.

"Shuddup, Jonas," I mumbled, pushing away his elbow. He laughed through his lopsided smile, his eyebrows raised.

"I didn't say anything," he pointed out.

I punched his shoulder playfully and led the way into the family, but not before he slipped his arm through mine.

-x-

"I'm gonna go check on the food," Shane said with a sly smile. _Huh? Since when does cooking imply slyness?_

"Never trust Shane alone by the oven," Jason said, following Shane into the kitchen.

"Hey Jenna, come here for a second!" Shane called from the kitchen a second later. I started to get up to follow Jenna, but she motioned for me to stay.

"I'll be right back," she said with an eye roll.

I looked over at Nate, my only companion in the living room with an uncomfortable smile.

"Sooo…" he said, trying to break the awkward silence. I wished Jenna would come back—I wasn't any good at making small talk.

"I hope you're hungry…Shane made, like, three pies."

"_Shane_'s cooking? Got a fire extinguisher on hand?" I joked. Nate laughed, and it was unlike any laugh I had ever heard before. It made me want to try anything to hear that laugh again.

When his chuckle died down, he said, "Shane's not that bad of a cook, actually. He's an excellent cereal maker." More laughter. Gawd, his laugh was contagious.

"No, but really, we're just ordering from the restaurant downstairs. I dunno _why_ it takes three people to check on a pie."

It was silent for a minute after we burnt out our first small talk topic. What was taking Jenna, Shane, and Jason so long?

"So, what're you and Jenna up to in Cali?" Nate asked.

"Jenna goes to California State. We live in Virginia, so I'm visiting her for Spring Break."

"And you guys are sisters?"

"And best friends," I said with a nod.

Nate nodded slowly as we realized that our first conversation piece had burned out; however awkward it had been, it was better than silence

"What're you guys doing here? Don't you live in LA?" I inquired after a minute, realizing that I had never asked Shane about that.

"Yeah, we do. We're on vacation right now, but we couldn't go too far because we still have press obligations. So, here we are, enjoying a couple of weeks of anonymity; plus, you can't really complain about the pool, golf course, tennis courts, and gym they've got here."

After another minute of silence, Shane, Jason, and Jenna came back in the room and sat back down.

"You guys ready to order?" Shane asked, an amused smile playing around his mouth and his eyes laughing.

* * *

**Okay! Thanks for reading, guys...don't forget to review!**

**Again: I highly reccomend that you head on over to fictionpress(dot)com for the better version of this (under the same title and penname) if you're interested...It makes a LOT more sense :)**

**Thanks!**


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